Factors that shape the host microbiome

Sze, Marc A.; Doonan, James; McDonald, James E.; Harris, Reid N.; Dewar, Meagan

doi:10.1017/9781108654418.004

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 166 publications

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“…The effects of symbiotic microbial strains on hosts range from positive nutritive or defensive interactions to harmful parasitic or pathogenic relationships (Berg et al, 2020). These effects vary across host and symbiont genotypes and environmental conditions (Sze et al, 2020). There are relatively clear differences among the functional categories of symbiotic microbes: closed, mixed and open (Perreau & Moran, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial symbionts are shared between ants and their associated beetles

Valdivia

Newton

O’Donnell

et al. 2022

Preprint

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The transmission of microbial symbionts across individuals and generations can be critical for animal development and survival. Likewise, the transmission of microbes across closely interacting species could also affect host biology. Army ants (Formicidae: Dorylinae) and their hundreds of closely associated insect species (myrmecophiles) can provide a unique insight into interspecific symbiont sharing. Here, we compared the microbiota of workers and larvae of the army ant Eciton burchellii with those of 13 myrmecophile beetle species using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. We found that the previously characterized symbionts of army ant workers (Unclassified Firmicutes and Unclassified Entomoplasmatales) were largely absent from ant larvae and from myrmecophiles, whose microbial communities were usually dominated by Rickettsia, Wolbachia, Rickettsiella, and/or Weissella. Strikingly, different species of myrmecophiles and ant larvae often shared identical 16S rRNA genotypes of common bacteria. In particular, army ant larvae, some workers, and several myrmecophile species often hosted identical Weissella (Lactobacillales), based on 16S rRNA and also protein-coding gene sequences. Also, we found high relatedness between some newly characterized Weissella and animal-associated strains from aquatic and marine habitats. Looking more broadly, we found Weissella OTUs in 11.6% of samples from nearly all habitats and environments characterized by the Earth Microbiome Project. Together, our data show that unrelated but closely interacting species can share much of their microbiota. The high relatedness of strains found across such disparate hosts as ants, beetles, trout, and whales suggests that some versatile microbes move between hosts and habitats despite few opportunities for direct interaction.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial symbionts are shared between ants and their associated beetles

Valdivia

Newton

O’Donnell

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…Members of this genus are fungal symbionts of vascular plants [ 58 ], hence their presence in crayfish intestine may be explained by the crayfish diet (i.e. grazing), since the intestinal microbiome reflects the feeding style of the host [ 59 ]. On the contrary, the genus Ciliophora was present in all sample groups except in the intestine.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is not surprising, since the four analyzed sample groups differ in physical and chemical properties, and therefore provide different microhabitats for colonizing microbes, including fungi (cf. [59,61,62]). A similar uniqueness was also found for the bacteriome of the signal crayfish and its environment [37].…”

Section: Diversity and Composition Of Environmental And Crayfish Myco...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The mycobiome of a successful crayfish invader and its changes along the environmental gradient

et al. 2023

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Background The microbiome plays an important role in biological invasions, since it affects various interactions between host and environment. However, most studies focus on the bacteriome, insufficiently addressing other components of the microbiome such as the mycobiome. Microbial fungi are among the most damaging pathogens in freshwater crayfish populations, colonizing and infecting both native and invasive crayfish species. Invading crayfish may transmit novel fungal species to native populations, but also, dispersal process and characteristics of the novel environment may affect the invaders’ mycobiome composition, directly and indirectly affecting their fitness and invasion success. This study analyzes the mycobiome of a successful invader in Europe, the signal crayfish, using the ITS rRNA amplicon sequencing approach. We explored the mycobiomes of crayfish samples (exoskeletal biofilm, hemolymph, hepatopancreas, intestine), compared them to environmental samples (water, sediment), and examined the differences in fungal diversity and abundance between upstream and downstream segments of the signal crayfish invasion range in the Korana River, Croatia. Results A low number of ASVs (indicating low abundance and/or diversity of fungal taxa) was obtained in hemolymph and hepatopancreas samples. Thus, only exoskeleton, intestine, sediment and water samples were analyzed further. Significant differences were recorded between their mycobiomes, confirming their uniqueness. Generally, environmental mycobiomes showed higher diversity than crayfish-associated mycobiomes. The intestinal mycobiome showed significantly lower richness compared to other mycobiomes. Significant differences in the diversity of sediment and exoskeletal mycobiomes were recorded between different river segments (but not for water and intestinal mycobiomes). Together with the high observed portion of shared ASVs between sediment and exoskeleton, this indicates that the environment (i.e. sediment mycobiome) at least partly shapes the exoskeletal mycobiome of crayfish. Conclusion This study presents the first data on crayfish-associated fungal communities across different tissues, which is valuable given the lack of studies on the crayfish mycobiome. We demonstrate significant differences in the crayfish exoskeletal mycobiome along the invasion range, suggesting that different local environmental conditions may shape the exoskeletal mycobiome during range expansion, while the mycobiome of the internal organ (intestine) remained more stable. Our results provide a basis for assessing how the mycobiome contributes to the overall health of the signal crayfish and its further invasion success.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial symbionts are shared between ants and their associated beetles

Valdivia,

Newton,

von Beeren

et al. 2023

Environmental Microbiology

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The transmission of microbial symbionts across animal species could strongly affect their biology and evolution, but our understanding of transmission patterns and dynamics is limited. Army ants (Formicidae: Dorylinae) and their hundreds of closely associated insect guest species (myrmecophiles) can provide unique insights into interspecific microbial symbiont sharing. Here, we compared the microbiota of workers and larvae of the army ant Eciton burchellii with those of 13 myrmecophile beetle species using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. We found that the previously characterized specialized bacterial symbionts of army ant workers were largely absent from ant larvae and myrmecophiles, whose microbial communities were usually dominated by Rickettsia, Wolbachia, Rickettsiella and/or Weissella. Strikingly, different species of myrmecophiles and ant larvae often shared identical 16S rRNA genotypes of these common bacteria. Protein‐coding gene sequences confirmed the close relationship of Weissella strains colonizing army ant larvae, some workers and several myrmecophile species. Unexpectedly, these strains were also similar to strains infecting dissimilar animals inhabiting very different habitats: trout and whales. Together, our data show that closely interacting species can share much of their microbiota, and some versatile microbial species can inhabit and possibly transmit across a diverse range of hosts and environments.

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Factors that shape the host microbiome

Cited by 6 publications

References 166 publications

Microbial symbionts are shared between ants and their associated beetles

Microbial symbionts are shared between ants and their associated beetles

The mycobiome of a successful crayfish invader and its changes along the environmental gradient

Microbial symbionts are shared between ants and their associated beetles

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